UFC 152 results: Kyle Noke stops Charlie Brenneman in 45 seconds

TORONTO – After fans waited 42 days between UFC events, Kyle Noke needed just 45 seconds to give them their first finish.

The Australian made a successful welterweight debut and snapped a two-fight losing skid with a quick win over Charlie Brenneman.

The bout opened the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 152 event at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The fight streamed on Facebook prior to additional prelims on FX and a main card on pay-per-view.

Noke set the tone early in the one-sided fight. After just missing on a front kick to the kisser, Noke popped Brenneman with a flush left jab. The blow clearly shook Brenneman, who then was tagged with a vicious straight right.

Brenneman dropped to his knees, and Noke unloaded a quick series of follow-up punches. After Brenneman dropped his arms and his head hunched over, referee Dan Miragliotta was forced to halt the bout.

Brenneman immediately protested, but he was on shaky legs as he tried to argue his case.

“You can’t blame the ref there,” Noke said. “I would have liked it to keep going, though. … Charlie went down when I hit him, and I couldn’t see his face, so I can’t really comment on the stoppage. I wasn’t surprised he stopped it though.”

Noke, whose job was in jeopardy after back-to-back losses to Ed Herman and Andrew Craig, said the drop in weight class was a good move.

“The cut was easy,” he said. “I wasn’t cutting to make 185 (pounds). I had just gotten comfortable at 185.”

Noke (20-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) picks up his first win in 19 months while Brenneman (15-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) falls to 1-3 in his past four outings.

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